Acetylene-gas generator.



J. F. WILLIAMS.

I AOETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED 00123, 1910.

1,057,989. Patented Apr. 1, 19 13.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES IIVVENTOI; fi/o/z/z j WZZZZZI/Ws A TTORIVEYS J. F. WILLIAMS.

AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLIOATION FILED OCT. 3, 1910.

Patented Apr. 1, 1913.

ZSHEETS-SH'EET 2.

I IIVI IEIV TOR //z/z [WM/1am? ATTORNEYS WITNESSES are- JOHN F. WILLIAMS, or wassarc, new Yeax.

nominative-Gas GENERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed emb rs, 1910. Serial No. 584,897.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JonN F. WILLIAMS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Wassaic, in the county,of Dutchcss and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Acetylene-Gas Generators, of which the following is a full,

clear, andwxact description.

The object of the invention is to provide certain new and useful improvements in acetylene gas generators, whereby the amount of carbid in the feed hopper is indicated at all times and an alarm is sounded whenever the carbid in the feed hopperreaches a low stage, and whereby a supplementary charge.

of car-bid within the feed hopper may be added to permit of running the acetylene gas generator another length of time, say overnight, before being required to recharge,thus

avoiding recharging during the night or runprovement; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same; Fig. 3 is a pian view of the same and showing the feed hopper in, section; Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation of the automatic resetting device for the follower; and Fig. 5

is an enlarged sectional side elevation of part of the supplementary charging device,

the section being on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

The feed hopper A for containing the carbid may be of any approved shape and construction, and is connected at its lower end by a neck 13 with the generator'C, of the usual construction, the neck B containing the usual device D for periodically controlling the amount of carbid to be passed from the feed hop er A int0 the generator C. The upper end of the feed hopper A is provided with the usual filling tube E for periodically charging the hopper A with carbid..

The parts so far described are similar to those now used in acetylene gas generators and hence form no part of my improvement.

Within the feed hopper A is arranged a container F, preferably in the form of a small cup, attached to the upper end of an arm F secured to a transversely-extending shaft G journaled in suitable bearings A, A arranged on the feed hopper A, one end of the shaft G extending to the outside of the feed hopper and terminating in a handle G adapted to be taken hold of by the operator to turn the shaft G so as to swing the cup F from its normal osition shown in Figs. 2 and 3, downwar into a dumping position, to discharge the calcium carbrd contained in the container F into the hopper A for transmission through the neck B into the gas generator C. By arranging the container F within the feed hopper A it is evident that when the feed hopper is filled with the carbid then the container F is also filled with the carbid, and when the acetylene gas generator is in use the carbidcontained in the hopper A is radually fed to the. generator according to the gas consumption, but as the car-bid moves out of the hop, per A the carbid contained in the container F remains in there, and when the carbid has Patented Apr. 1, 1913.

been discharged from the hopper A and the lights begin to go out then the operator in charge can turn the handle G so as to tilt the container F into'dumping position,

the usual manner, through the filling tube E.

In order to provide a visible means for indicating the amount of car-bid contained in the feed hopper A, use is made of a follower H in the form of a plate, adapted to tached to an arm H secured to the shaft I, journaled at its inner end in the hearing A and at its outer end in the bearing A. "On the outer end of the shaft I is secured an arm J, on which is adjustably held a weight rest on top of the carbid contained in the feed hopper A, the said plate H being at- J by the use of a set screw J On the shaft I outside of the hopper A is arranged a key I engaging a keyway on the pivotal end K of a pointer K, indicating on a fixed scale L, having marks representing pounds or other weight or measure. On the pointer K is adjustably held a weight N for imparting a downward swinging motion to the pointer K to hold the follower H in contact with 'the top of the carbid held in the feed hopper A, the said weight N overbalancing the weighted arm J. against the fulcrum end K of the pointer K, to hold the latter normally in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, that is, in engagement with the key I, and the said fulcrum end K of the pointer K is adapted to engage a cam P, so that when the pointer K swings downward the cam P shifts the fulcrum end K of the pointer K lengthwise on the shaft I and against the tension of the spring 0, and when the pointer K reaches a lowermost position then the fulcrum end K of the pointer K is out of engagement with the key I, so that the shaft I is free to turn by the action of the weighted arm J, to swing the follower H upward into its uppermost position, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. The cam P is'held vertically adjustable on the bearing A by the use of a bolt P engaging an elongated slotA in the said bearing, see Fig. 1. By adjusting the cam P up or down the follower H can be released sooner or later during its downward swinging movement according to the amount of carbid desired to be in the bottom of the hopper A at the time of releasing the follower.

On the arm F of the container F is arranged a transversely-extending pin F adapted to be engaged by an arm H of the follower H when the latter swings upward, and the container F is returned. to normal vertical position by the arm H when the latter returns to its uppermost position. The weight N is adapted to engage a spring contact arm Q, and press the same downward into engagement with a fixed contact point Q of an electric alarm Q, of any approved construction, so as to close the electric circuit and sound the alarm Q. at the time the pointer-K reaches a lowermost position, that is, at the time the earbid has been discharged from the hopper A. Thus when an alarm is sounded, the operator incharge can attend to the recharging of the feed hopper A. By adjusting the weight. N on thepointer K the alarm'can be sounded sooner or later, that is, if desired, the alarm can be sounded when the carbid has been completely discharged from the hopper A, or when a certain amount, say five or ten pounds, is still contained in the said hopper.

For the purpose mentioned, the weight- N A spring 0 presses is provided with a stem N having a plurality of apertures N any one of which can be engaged by a pin N adapted to be en gaged with one of a series of apertures K formed in the pointer K. Thus by engaging the pin N with any one of the apertures N 1'', the weight N may be adjusted to engage the contact Q sooner or later, as above mentioned. On the shaft I. is secured an arm R. within the hopper A and adapted to engage the arm F carrying the container F, so that when the shaft I is turned by hand or by the action of the pointer K and the follower H at the time the pointer K reaches a predetermined lowermost position, then the arm R engages the arm F" and imparts a swinging motion to the same, to tilt I the container F into a dumping position, and thus emptly its contents into the hopper A. It is understood that the container F can be moved into dumping position, either automatically as above described or by the operator turning either the shaft G or the shaft I. The shaft I can be turned by the operator taking hold of the arm J or the pointer K.

The operation isas follows: Whenthe feed hopper A is filled with carbid then the cont-ainerF is likewise filled, and theseveral parts are, in the posit-ion as indicated in the drawings. Now as the carbid is periodically II moves downward with the top or level of the carbid owing to the action of the over- I balancing weight N on the pointer K attachedto the shaft I carrying the arm H of the follower H. When all or nearly all of the carbid has left the feed hopper A then the weight N bears on the contact spring arm Qto press the same downward in engagement with the point Q to close the cir-- cuit and thus sound an alarm, so that the operator in charge can turn the shaft G or I to tilt the container F and thus empty its contents into the hopper A, thereby providing a supplemental charge of the carbid. In case the attendant fails to tilt the container F then a further-downward movement of the follower H causes the arm R to tilt the container F, so that the supplemental charge of carbid is dumped into the hopper A, it being understood that by the use of the spring arm Q the weight N can slide over the spring arm to allow the follower to pass into an extreme lowermost position.

It is understoodv that the weight N may contact with and rest upon the spring Q, until the pointer is raised, or the weight N may merely contact momentarily with the spring Q, and then slide past it according to the adjustment of the weight N on the lever K by the use of the pin N engaging corresponding holes N K From the foregoing it will be seen that the sup lemental charge can be dumped into the fee hopperA by hand or automatically, and the device can be set to set off the alarm either when there is no carbid left in the feed hopper, or a small-quantity, say five or ten pounds, as the case may be. It will also be noticed that as the follower H moves downward with the carbid inthe hopper A, the pointer K indicates on the scale L the exact amount of cal-bid remaining in the hopper, so that the attendant can see at .a

glance "how much carbid there is left in the iopper A. It will also be noticed that the follower H automatlcally returns to its uppermost position after the carbid is discharged from the hopper A and wholly independent of the pointer K, which latter has to be raised by hand when refilling the feed hopper A. The follower H and its arm H durmg their downward movement press on the carbid and thereby assist in feeding the carbid downward. The follower H and its arm H may be actuated by hand from the outside on turning the shaft. to disturb .the carbid in case the same'should be clogged.

By the arrangement described it is wholly unnecessary to open and till the feed hopper at night, as the-reserve supply in the containcr F canbe dum )ed as soon as the re ular supply is exhausted, by simply turning The ointer K and the scale N form a visible reminder for the attendant, as they indicate the exact amount of carbid in the feed llO)PQ1' A, and inaddition an alarm is soun ed as soon as the carbid reaches a low stage in the feed hopper.

It will further be noticed that by the arrangement described, the container F may be dumped either before or after sounding the alarm.

The adjustable devices are located outside of the apparatus and are hence within reach of the operator at. any time and enable him to set or actuate the devices to suit his convenience and desires.

It is understood that the weight N may be set to make contact with the spring Q, at

the time the hopper A still contains, say, ten' pounds of carbid, and thus when the alarm is sounded the operator in charge knows that ten pounds of carbid are still in the hopper and a supply is also in the cup F, which has not been dumped but may be dumped, within the hopper, if so desired, or the hopper may be refilled without the cup having been dumped. Thus the arrangement described forms an indicator of the feed supply independent of the pointer K and scale L.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. An acetylene gas generator, having a feed hopper, and a manually-controlled cup mounted to swing within the said feed hopthe said hopper and adapted to fill with carbidon charging the hopper, and mauuall controlled means connected with the sald cup for swinging the'cup into discharging position for emptying the latter of its contents.

1 3. An acetylene gas generator having a feedhopper, a cup arranged Within the said hopper and adapted to fill with carbid on charging the hopper, the said cup bein mounted to tilt, and manua'lly-controlle means connected with the said cup and extending to the outside of the hopper to permitan operator to tilt the cup and empty the same of its contents. v 4:. An acetylene gas generator having a feed hopper, a cup arranged within the said hopper and adapted to fill with carbid on charging the hopper, and a shaft carrying the said cup and extending to the outside of the said feed hopper the outer end ofthe shafthaving meanst'o permit of turning the shaft for tilting the cup and emptying the same of its contents.

5. An acetylene gas generator, provided with a feed hopper, a follower Within the said hopper and engaging the to of the carbid in the said hopper, a container within the said fixed hopper, and a connection between the said follower and the said container, to empty the latter at thetime the follower reaches a desired lowermost position.

(3. An acetylene gas enerator )rovided with a feed hopper, a follower Within the said hopper and'engaging the tqp of the carbid in the said hopper, a container Within the said fixed hopper, and a connection 1 between the said follower and the said con tainerto return the latter to normal raised position on the return of the follower.

7. An acetylene generator, having in combination with a magazine adapted to feed carbid through an opening therein, a feeding device controlling the flow of carbid through said o1 ening, a reserve carbld receptacle supported within the magazine and means for dumping the contents of said receptacle, 'when the n'iain supply of carbid in themagazine is exhausted, the said means being only operable when the supply of carbid in the main chamber has been reduced below a predetermined point, substantially as described.

8. An acetylene generator, having in combination with amain magazine, a rod journaled therein, a reserve carbid bucket hung within said main magazine and adapted to be emptied by oscillating said rod when the supply in the main magazine has been lowered to a predetermined point, snbst an- I In testimony whereof I have signed my tially as described. I name to this specification in the presence of 9. A generator of the kind described havtWo subscribing witnesses.

ing main and auxiliary hoppers with inde- JOHN F. WILLIAMS; 5 pendent-1y operated feed devices, the said Witnesses:

auxiliary hopper being located within said Two. G. Hos'rER,

main hopper. I v PHILIP D. RoLLHAUs. 

